2016 Impromptu magazine by Aspen Music Festival and School

IMPROMPTU A Magazine About the Aspen Music Festival and School

Summer 2016 | FREE

SUPERSTAR SOPRANO RENÃ&#x2030;E FLEMING RETURNS TO ASPEN!

Plus TANGO: FROM THE DANCE HALL TO THE CONCERT HALL PEEKING BEHIND THE OPERA CURTAIN A NEW CAMPUS, A NEW ERA IMPROMPTU SUMMER 2016

ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL AND SCHOOL 2016 SEASON JUNE 30–AUGUST 21 The 2016 Aspen Music Festival and School season theme, Invitation to Dance, points to the use of dance elements in musical works throughout the centuries, from Bach to Piazzolla, all while showcasing some of the world’s most talented guest artists, artist-faculty, and student performers. With hundreds of events over eight weeks—including performances by five full orchestras, dozens of chamber music concerts, three fully produced operas, and master classes, lectures, and children’s events—the 2016 AMFS season is a musical feast, enjoyable for one perfect evening or for an entire, glorious summer. A full schedule of events is available at www.aspenmusicfestival.com. For an abridged schedule, see pages 31-35. For tickets and information, visit the website or call the AMFS Box Office at 970-925-9042.

CONTENTS

RENÉE RETURNS!

Before Renée Fleming became the most famous American soprano of her generation, she was a twentysomething student at the Aspen Music Festival and School. Get to know this esteemed alumna ahead of her July 3 performance in Aspen.

FEATURES

Three operas, eight performances . . . and hundreds of hours of herculean effort from dozens of dedicated musicians, artists, and staff. Go behind the scenes with the Aspen Opera Center to discover what goes into presenting one of the world’s grandest art forms.

Hundreds of exceptionally talented young musicians come through Aspen each summer to study at the Aspen Music Festival and School. With the stunning new Matthew and Carolyn Bucksbaum Campus, they now have access to world-class facilities in one of the world’s most beautiful settings.

BEHIND THE CURTAIN

A NEW ERA

ON THE COVER AND ABOVE RENÉE FLEMING. PHOTOS: DECCA/ANDREW ECCLES

IMPROMPTU SUMMER 2016

Violinist and AMFS alumna Sarah Chang performs Piazzolla in Aspen this summer.

IMPROMPTU EDITOR IN CHIEF Laura E. Smith MANAGING EDITOR Tamara Vallejos ASSISTANT EDITORS Jessica Cabe, Diane Stine, Janice Szabo GRAPHIC DESIGN BeeSpring Designs CONTRIBUTORS Kate Drozynski, Courtney Thompson Impromptu is a publication of the Aspen Music Festival and School.

CONTACT Aspen Music Festival and School 225 Music School Road Aspen, CO 81611 info@aspenmusic.org ADMINISTRATION 970-925-3254 BOX OFFICE 970-925-9042

FROM THE DANCE HALL TO THE CONCERT HALL

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 5 N OTES FROM THE FESTIVAL

Flamenco takes the stage; the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has first-ever Aspen residency; sixty-six percussionists perform John Luther Adams’s Inuksuit; and more.

Explore just some of the hundreds of events taking place this summer.

MUSICAL ACROBATICS One of the most recognizable pieces of all time—Carl Orff’s Carmina burana—closes the 2016 Aspen Music Festival and School season. What makes this 1930s cantata based on a series of medieval poems so continuously crowd-pleasing?

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www.aspenmusicfestival.com

ASK THE MUSICIANS

AMFS musicians discuss the works that changed their lives. 31

ABRIDGED CALENDAR

36 FACULTY FOCUS AMFS artist-faculty on how studying music can prepare you for the real world. 38 STUDENT SPOTLIGHT 2016 Dorothy DeLay Prize Winner Blake Pouliot shares his passion for violin.

2016 SEASON JUNE 30–AUGUST 21, 2016 Robert Spano Music Director Alan Fletcher President and CEO

CLIFF WATTS

NOTES

FROM THE FESTIVAL

At the Benedict Music Tent, pictured here on a beautiful Aspen evening, audiences are always welcome to bring a picnic and enjoy the concert from the David Karetsky Music Lawnâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;for

ALEX IRVIN

free!

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NOTES FROM THE FESTIVAL

PSO in Aspen

Fiery Flamenco Contemporary flamenco siren Siudy Garrido has “a cambré and port de bras that would give envy to any classical dancer, and a fire in the body that would leave speechless many flamenco dancers.” (El Nuevo Herald, Miami, 2012.) Garrido and her company, Siudy Flamenco Dance Theater, dance in the Benedict Music Tent to Spanish composer Manuel de Falla’s colorful flamenco ballet El amor brujo (“Love Bewitched”) on Friday, August 19.

The world’s leading classical musicians come to the Aspen Music Festival and School each summer, but rarely in groups of 100. The world-renowned Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, an ensemble that has “married epic power with a revealing translucency of texture” (Gramophone), comes to Aspen for three rare post-season concerts on August 23, 24, and 25. Much acclaimed conductor Manfred Honeck leads violinist extraordiPinchas Zukerman naire Pinchas Zukerman and clarinetist Michael Rusinek as soloists in programs that include works by Bruckner, Bruch, Mozart, Mahler, Strauss, Berg, and more. Says AMFS President and CEO Alan Fletcher, “Hearing the spectacular PSO perform in the crystalline air of Aspen, with Manfred leading, will be a life moment for us all to share.” Learn more online at www.aspenmusicfestival.com/PSO2016.

The massive percussion installation Inuksuit, by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Luther Adams, has been called the “ultimate environmental work” by The New York Times and “one of the most rapturous experiences of my listening life” by Alex Ross of The New Yorker. Scored for dozens of percussionists, the piece is meant to be performed outdoors, with plenty of space for musicians to spread out. Inuksuit then morphs as audiences meander the performance grounds—and not only because listeners continuously hear the piece from new angles as they walk. Nature itself also has the opportunity to join in on the music-making, as birds chirp and leaves rustle in the breeze. Now this sprawling work comes to Aspen! Wander the David Karetsky Music Lawn outside the Benedict Music Tent at 1 pm on Sunday, August 7, and you’ll come face to face with sixty-six percussionists performing Inuksuit. Don’t miss this free presentation! Siudy Garrido

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OMAR CRUZ (GARRIDO); CHERYL MAZAK (ZUKERMAN)

66 PERCUSSIONISTS

NOTES FROM THE FESTIVAL

HIGH DESIGN

WHAT SETS ASPEN APART One of the world’s greatest graphic designers, modernist Herbert Bayer came to Aspen in the 1940s and designed posters, promotions, sculptures, and event buildings for the Aspen Skiing Company, Aspen Institute, and Aspen Music Festival and School. He is largely responsible for Aspen’s now long-standing high-design aesthetic and visual sophistication. His signature vibrant “Bayer blue” fills the AMFS’s Benedict Music Tent and his work even inspired the AMFS’s new logo, pictured right. For more on the AMFS’s new visual identity, visit www.aspenmusicfestival.com/ design2016. Herbert Bayer

Welcome, 2016 Students!

FERENC BERKO (BAYER); ALEX IRVIN (STUDENTS)

The Aspen Music Festival and School presents brilliant performances by the top classical artists on the circuit today—but the heart and soul of the AMFS is the work that goes into training the rising generation of star musicians. Each summer, more than 600 of the world’s most promising young student musicians come to Aspen for an intensive summer of training with the country’s top players and pedagogues. The faculty come from the orchestras of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, the Metropolitan Opera, and others, and the schools of music of Juilliard, Colburn, Rice, and more. The students come from forty U.S. states and twenty-one countries. What happens when they come together is no less than an explosion of musical inspiration.

“ I feel like Aspen has a lot of the best parts of what every music festival aims to have.” — 2 016 ENGLISH HORN FELLOW MICHELLE PAN, ON RETURNING FOR HER THIRD SUMMER AT THE AMFS

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Ask the Musicians

“WHAT PIECE OF MUSIC CHANGED YOUR LIFE?” Bach’s St. Matthew Passion ALAN FLETCHER AMFS PRESIDENT AND CEO My mother was a wonderful musician and, when I was a small boy, she led performances of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion every few years. That first year, I sang in the boy choir, which has some of the most wonderful music in the opening chorus. The next time, she let me sing with the sopranos of the regular choir. Later, my voice moved down, so I learned all the choral parts. Still later, I was her rehearsal pianist, so I learned the orchestra parts. In a phrase borrowed from my composition teacher Roger Sessions, if I were held down and forced to say what is my favorite musical work, it would surely be the whole of the St. Matthew Passion. Decades later, I still take three hours or more every Holy Saturday and listen to it with greatest attention. It repays every bit of love you bring to it.

EDWARD BERKELEY ASPEN OPERA CENTER DIRECTOR In one of my early summers in Aspen, I had a profound musical experience. One Saturday afternoon, sitting at a chamber

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RYAN CUTLER

Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time

AMFS Music Director Robert Spano cites Bach’s St. John Passion as the most impactful work he’s heard. “If there was ever evidence of immanent divinity,” he says, “this is it.”

in my recent life has had a huge influence on me. I was dying to play her Violin Concerto, and I finally had an opportunity when I did it for the first time in L.A. And that was just mind-blowing. It was one of the first times I felt I understood the inner life of the composer before I met the composer. I felt that I knew her, through her music, completely. It was the first time I heard somebody’s music and thought, “Oh, I’m going to be great friends with this person” And then it happened.

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony MISHA DICHTER piano AMFS ARTIST-FACULTY

concert in the old Tent with [revered Aspen voice teacher] Jan DeGaetani, I first heard live Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time. The exquisitely painful beauty of the performance left Jan and me in tears. I recall Lee Luvisi’s extraordinary piano but am sad to have forgotten the names of the other players as all their work brought new insight to me as to the depths of feeling that music in pure form can evoke. Jan’s sweet human presence made the music that much more powerful. Thinking back, that moment set new goals for me in directing and teaching; reaching into people’s souls became the real mission regardless of the medium.

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Kaija Saariaho’s Graal théâtre JENNIFER KOH violin AMFS GUEST ARTIST It’s funny because I’m playing her music in Aspen this summer, but Kaija Saariaho

It’s going to sound like a cliché, but I was a teenager not knowing what I was going to do with my life. Then, I think at about the age of 14 or 15, I got a recording of the Beethoven Ninth Symphony. This is probably not a unique story— many people have found that piece to be a life-changer. But I thought, “I can’t do anything with my life except be a musician, because this is much too meaningful to do anything else.”

Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto DAVID FINCKEL cello AMFS ARTIST-FACULTY It’s going to be surprising to hear from me; people are going to be expecting me to pick string quartets or something like that. But it was not only the music itself, it was also the recording that I heard that had a huge effect on me. I was probably seven years old and it was a live concert recording of Van Cliburn playing that concerto. I just remember that it was the first Rachmani-

noff I had heard in my life, and I was totally bowled over by the music. I mean, I didn’t know that music like that could even possibly exist. It was so Romantic, and so beautiful, and so complicated, and so incredibly virtuosic. It probably was influential in my unstoppable urge to become a professional performing musician. It’s all in that record; it’s the piece of music, it’s the performance, it’s the time and the place, and I was just at the right age. It lit me on fire to fall in love with Russian music, to become a musician, to yearn for the stage and audiences.

Barber’s Violin Concerto ROBERT MCDUFFIE violin AMFS ARTIST-FACULTY I played it for him. I was a cocky Juilliard kid, playing the standards of white, European males, and I only learned to play it as a competition piece. But when I played it, I felt American. And playing a masterpiece for the composer did it for me. It’s just a perfect piece. So honest. A genuine expression of beauty. After that, I knew that my life would change because I would be promoting American music from American composers from that day forward.

Bach’s Goldberg Variations SIMONE DINNERSTEIN piano AMFS GUEST ARTIST My recording of that piece just completely changed the nature of my career. The process of recording it, what took place while I was recording it, was a real turning point for me. Something really came into focus for me between my inner vision of the music and my realization of it at the keyboard. That had never happened to me before, in terms of that connection. So ever since then I would say I’ve had a different approach towards my own playing. Reporting by Jessica Cabe, Kate Drozynski, and Laura E. Smith

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DECCA/ANDREW ECCLES

RENÃ&#x2030;E RETURNS!

Over the past three decades, soprano Renée Fleming has become one of the world’s most respected opera singers. She’s also become an American icon, with a popularity that reaches far beyond the opera house. Nicknamed “The People’s Diva,” Fleming has won Grammy Awards; been photographed by Annie Leibovitz for the National Portrait Gallery; and has performed for presidents, at the Super Bowl, and even on Sesame Street. This summer she returns to Aspen, where she starred in some of her earliest roles.

By Tamara Vallejos

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In retrospect, however, Fleming’s path seems fated. At Eastman, she studied under Eastman Opera Theater Director Richard Pearlman—who, at the time, was also director of the AMFS’s Aspen Opera Theater Center. That connection led Fleming to Aspen, where she spent two summers as an AOTC student. Then, in 1983, during her second summer in Aspen, two important things happened: Fleming was cast for the first time as Countess Almaviva, in the AOTC’s production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro; and then-AMFS Music Director Jorge Mester heard her performance and urged her toward postgraduate studies at his own alma mater, The Juilliard School, where he was also on the conducting faculty. Neither event would have seemed monumental at the time, but both were pivotal stepping stones to a brilliant career. Fleming indeed kept studying,

kept building her repertoire and honing her voice. Within just a few years, the world began taking notice—and when it did, it was the role of the Countess, learned and performed for the first time at the AMFS, that became one of her most important calling cards. “I spent the first ten years of my career singing Mozart at the core of my repertoire,” says Fleming, who went on to make some of her most important debuts—including at Houston Grand Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, and England’s renowned Glyndebourne Festival—as the Countess. “It’s incredibly challenging because it requires a certain pristine perfection. There are just so many skills required, but I credit Mozart as one of my best voice teachers for that reason.” AMFS President and CEO Alan Fletcher agrees. “The Countess in Mozart’s Figaro has the potential of a minefield or

DECCA/ANDREW ECCLES

The first time America’s most famous living soprano came to the Aspen Music Festival and School, it was the 1980s and the idea of eventual superstardom had hardly crossed her mind. At the time, the then-twenty-something Renée Fleming was just wrapping up her voice studies at the prestigious Eastman School of Music and was, as she says, “just kind of going with the flow.” “I wasn’t making any major life pronouncements,” recalls Fleming. At the time, she knew she enjoyed singing and knew she had talent—but wasn’t yet completely committed to an opera career. “I just seemed to follow things along as they kept leading me from one thing to another. The fighting stage came a little bit later, after all the education was finished—and I had a couple of rocky years where I wasn’t sure if I was going to continue on, because it wasn’t exactly easy.”

ALEX IRVIN

a triumph for a soprano, in its blend of technical and emotional requirements,” says Fletcher. “Clearly, it was a lodestar for Renée, whose intelligence, technique, and communicative power made it irresistible.” By the mid-’90s, Fleming’s career was firmly established. Not only was she a regular performer on major stages across the United States and Europe, but she’d just landed a record contract with the respected Decca label. It was also around this time that her repertoire began to include the works of Richard Strauss, a leading German Romantic composer whose in-demand operas—such as Der Rosenkavalier, Salome, Ariadne auf Naxos, and Elektra—have made him one of the most frequently performed composers in the repertoire. Strauss, however, composed much besides opera. When Fleming returns to Aspen this summer, she’ll perform his Four Last Songs as part of the Aspen Festival Orchestra concert on July 3, during the AMFS’s opening weekend of the 2016 season. The Four Last Songs were composed by Strauss at the end of a magnificent and prolific career that spanned some seventy years, and it’s music that Fleming returns to time and again. The reason is simple: it’s as if the work was written just for her. “Strauss wrote for an ideal lyric soprano with the ability to spin seemingly effortless long lines and a creamy, beautiful sound projected in all registers,” says Fletcher. “This describes Renée’s voice!” “Those are hard to find, those pieces that really are comfortable in terms of how they’re composed,” adds Fleming. “It’s probably the most important concert piece for soprano and orchestra that’s been written, and it’s epic and fantastic. It’s the piece I’ve sung more than anything else, and still sing and will continue to sing.” Much of what has made Strauss’s

Four Last Songs so enduring is its emotional message. Composed in 1948, just one year before his death at the age of eighty-four, the songs mostly touch upon the end of one’s life. Each song features a poem set to music—three poems written by Herman Hesse, one by Joseph von Eichendorff—and although the works approach a weighty subject matter, there is an overarching sense of peaceful acceptance. “They are four perfectly crafted jewels, perfect by themselves or together,” says Asadour Santourian, the AMFS’s vice president for artistic administration and artistic advisor. “Renée gets these songs; she has become the quintessential Strauss interpreter. And her voice, it soars when it needs to soar, and she has the added ability to draw us into the intimacy of the text. Regardless of your capacity to understand German— and translations will be available at the concert—she’s able to convey the ebb and flow of the emotion of the text.” No doubt that Fleming, who has released two recordings of Strauss’s Four Last Songs, will move Aspen audiences with her performance this summer. But that audience includes more than just concert attendees. It also includes AMFS students. Fleming has returned to the AMFS several times since her own days as a student, and she can recall the impact her summers in Aspen had on her. “One of the most important things was being able to hear so much music at a high level, and hearing so many orchestral concerts at a high level,” says Fleming. “In my couple summers there, I was exposed to so much repertoire. When you’re in a conservatory, it’s hard to find the time to do that. You’ll attend friends’ concerts and some other things, but [in Aspen], you’re really steeped in it.” Her return as an alumna means

“IM ABENDROT” from Strauss’s Four Last Songs

Through misery and joy we have gone hand in hand; from travels let us rest, now, on this quiet land. Round us the valleys slope, the sky is growing dark, only two larks still rise dreamily into the haze. Step close and let them whir, it’s nearly time to sleep, so we do not get lost in this solitude. O broad, tranquil peace! So deep in sunset’s glow, how travel weary we are— could this, perhaps, be death? — JOSEPH VON EICHENDORFF

Translated from German

Renée Fleming during a recital at the Benedict Music Tent, as part of the 2006 AMFS season.

Her return as an alumna means that Renée Fleming has come full circle, helping to stoke the fire within this new generation of young musicians and students.

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too. This is part of that endless, limitless possibility for me.’” Fleming herself is still exploring her own limitless possibilities, three decades into her career. Although still in demand as a leading lady, she’s begun to wind down her operatic engagements in favor of more intimate recitals and concerts. The added flexibility to her schedule means she also has plenty of time for the behind-the-scenes artistic and advocacy work that is so important to her. This spring, the Kennedy Center announced that Fleming had been named one of its new artistic advisors. She’s also served, since 2010, as Lyric Opera of Chicago’s first-ever creative consultant. In that capacity, she curated the commission of Bel Canto, a new opera based on the 2001 best-selling novel of the same name by Ann Patchett. (Though the two women didn’t know each other at the time, Patchett used Fleming’s voice as inspiration when writing one of her main characters, a top American soprano.) After years of work, Bel Canto had its world premiere at Lyric Opera in December, with PBS filming a performance for inclusion in its 2016–17 season of the Great Perfor-

mances television series. “Some are already saying that Renée will be ‘the next Beverly Sills’ in her importance for the whole profession, and not only for singers,” says Fletcher. “But I think she will be the first and only Renée Fleming in such a role of ambassadorship, encouragement, wisdom, and achievement.” So, she’s performed around the world and is active in artistic leadership. She’s also written a memoir, released an album solely of indie rock covers, and made her Broadway debut last year. At this point, Fleming can write her own ticket—so is there anything still on her list to try? If there is, says Fleming, “I’m doing it!” “I definitely have a wonderful balance in my life, working on a wide variety of projects. I feel completely fulfilled.” Renée Fleming performs with the Aspen Festival Orchestra on July 3, as part of the opening weekend of the 2016 Aspen Music Festival and School season. Fleming also teaches a public master class and appears at an AMFS Artist Dinner on July 5.

DECCA/ANDREW ECCLES

that Fleming’s early experiences have come full circle, and now she is that artist, performing at that high level, who can help stoke the fire within this new generation of young musicians and students. She’ll do that very intentionally on July 5, when she leads a master class for current Aspen Opera Center students. But her presence—and, in fact, the presence of many of the AMFS’s distinguished, returning alumni—is felt in many other ways. “It’s wonderful when the young artists we identify realize their potential to the level of Renée, or Gil Shaham, or Sarah Chang, or Joshua Bell,” says Santourian. “It is a most gratifying thing, that perhaps we might have helped them on their way.” “Not only does their return signify a homecoming, but they’re incredibly generous with sharing their experience, their knowledge, and their empathy for where our students might be on this bridge between conservatory and working life. There’s a great deal of the unspoken that happens with their presence on our grounds that is so meaningful to our students. For an aspiring young artist who is here studying, they can then say, ‘This can happen to me,

DON’T MISS

SPECTACULAR THIS SUMMER! OPERA

ASPEN OPERA CENTER EDWARD BERKELEY DIRECTOR ELIZABETH BUCCHERI HEAD OF MUSIC

Puccini’s La bohème JULY 14, 16, AND 18*

William Bolcom’s A Wedding JULY 28 AND 30; OPEN TO PASSHOLDERS!

Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict ALEX IRVIN

AUGUST 16, 18, AND 20; OPEN TO PASSHOLDERS!

All performances take place at the Wheeler Opera House in downtown Aspen. For more information, see abridged calendar on page 31, or visit www.aspenmusicfestival.com. *Also the date of the AMFS’s 13th annual Opera Benefit. IMPROMPTU SUMMER 2016

BEHIND THE CURTAIN By Jessica Cabe

IMPROMPTU SUMMER 2016

RYAN CUTLER

Three operas, eight performances . . . and thousands of hours of herculean effort from more than a hundred dedicated musicians, artists, and staff. Go behind the scenes with the Aspen Opera Center to discover what goes into presenting one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grandest art forms.

When the lights go down on each “Of course,” notes Santourian, “it al- “was something I’d been anticipating opening night of the Aspen Opera ways has to be educational. The other singing someday for a while—really Center’s three fully staged productions thing is it has to be attractive to our do- since I first began singing and studying in the Wheeler Opera House, the hope nors and our patrons, our concert-go- opera. And so I just went in and tried to do my best, and thankfully here I am, is that audience members will feel as ers.” about to sing the role this summer.” though the performance in front of After auditions, singers are contactthem is the product of pure magic. But AUGUST 2015 in reality, the credit belongs to hard and By roughly the middle of last season, ed by the AMFS’s Student Services breakneck work from a massive team. the operas for the 2016 season were department and informed of whether Opera is notoriously difficult to pro- set. At that point, Santourian began se- they’ve been cast in a role. “This means that by the time singduce because it is such an all-encom- curing conductors for each opera, and passing art form. Not only are there audition dates for singers applying to ers arrive in Aspen to start rehearsing,” words and music, but opera’s dramat- study in Aspen for the 2016 season were says Berkeley, “they’ll have had as many ic demands require sets, props, cos- scheduled for late fall in cities across as six months during which they can be tumes, and lighting. To mount just one the country. (Orchestra auditions, on preparing the music on their own.” The AOC class for the 2016 season production in eight weeks would be a the other hand, take place closer to includes sixty-nine singers as challenge—but the 2016 seawell as seven student opera son features Puccini’s beloved coaches. La bohème, William Bolcom’s hilarious A Wedding, and BerOpera is notoriously difficult to lioz’s Shakespeare-inspired JANUARY 2016 produce because it is such an Béatrice et Bénédict. But singers are only part of the That means there’s an avpicture. The AOC’s operas all-encompassing art form. Not erage of just fourteen days are full productions, meaning of in-season prep before the they have sets, lighting, cosonly are there words and music, curtain goes up for each AOC tumes, makeup, and props. production. But, in reality, the All of these details start to get but opera’s dramatic demands preparation begins long beworked out at the beginning fore the season ever does. of the year—about six months require sets, props, costumes, before the AMFS season even begins. JANUARY 2015 and lighting. “The first of this year, Before there can be producthere were the beginnings of tions to wow an audience, discussion and sketching of there has to be a lineup. For the 2016 season, the discussions began the start of the season; numbers vary costumes and scenery,” says Berkeley. a year and a half ago, when AOC Di- by production, but there is usually an “Long before everyone gets to Aspen, rector Edward Berkeley, Aspen Music average of forty-five orchestra players the designs have to be worked out, have to be completed.” Festival and School President and CEO per opera.) Also around this time, the AMFS’s Alan Fletcher, AMFS Vice President year-round operations staff begins for Artistic Administration and Artistic NOVEMBER 2015 Advisor Asadour Santourian, and AMFS For a singer, the audition may be the hiring a skilled team of more than two Music Director Robert Spano began most nerve-racking part of the whole dozen staff members and interns— tossing ideas back and forth for this process. Rafael Moras, who will be including electricians, carpenters, a singing Rodolfo in La bohème, and who props master, scenic staff, stage mansummer’s operas. “A fair amount of it is trying to sort previously studied at the AMFS from agers, and costume shop staff—who will out different ideas of what might make 2011–13, says although he looked for- come to Aspen for the entire summer for a good, interesting, exciting sum- ward to once again auditioning in front and provide their expertise in all things mer,” says Berkeley. That includes of Berkeley and AOC Head of Music theatrical. On top of all that manpower, making sure the programming pro- Elizabeth Buccheri, he still felt an im- AOC students will also complete “tech vides a wonderful experience for both mense amount of pressure because hours” in the summer to assist with everything from loading productions in attendees and the AMFS’s student Rodolfo is a dream role. “This particular role,” says Moras, and out of the Wheeler Opera House performers.

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to spotlight operation.

Aspen residents and visitors

JUNE–AUGUST 2016 Students arrive in Aspen about a week before the season officially begins, and one of the first things they do is sit down for a table reading. Getting back to the text, to the root of the work, informs everything else about the production, including singing, acting, the set, lighting, and costumes. Then singers begin their coachings, which include one-on-one and ensemble sessions with coaches, as well as dramatic coachings. More than a dozen AOC and voice artist-faculty members spend the summer working to get students and productions ready for opening night. In all, AOC students spend well over a thousand hours throughout the

may stroll by the Wheeler Opera House between performances and think all is quiet, but there is a non-stop hustle and bustle indoors.

summer in rehearsals off-site from the Wheeler Opera House. But even though Aspen residents and visitors may stroll by the Wheeler between performance dates and think all is quiet, there is a non-stop hustle and bustle in there, too. “Once we get there at the beginning of the summer, the Wheeler is

very, very active,” says Berkeley. “All the lights have to be hung and focused, and the scenery is loaded in for each production over the course of the summer, and then of course there’s all the stage time for rehearsing with the orchestra as well as for the singers rehearsing on the stage. And every Saturday we have a scenes master class in the morning, so even beyond the productions, it’s very, very busy.” Last summer, more than seven hundred hours were spent working inside the Wheeler, including many all-nighters to accommodate the wide variety of production needs. For instance, focusing the lighting needs to happen in a darkened theater, but painting sets and scenery needs to happen in a well-lit area. Quite often the only way to get everything done in

RYAN CUTLER

Scenic Artist Michael Leon shows off a model of one of the sets for last summer’s AOC production of Così fan tutte.

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this one space is to schedule activities around the clock. THE RACE TOWARD OPENING NIGHT Eventually, it’s time for singers and musicians to move into the Wheeler to get ready for opening night. “It changes by each opera, but most of the productions are able to rehearse in the Wheeler for about two weeks before opening,” says Berkeley. “So during this time on stage, the singers get used to the space and are able to really feel what the Wheeler is like.” This is also the moment the singers and the orchestra first rehearse together. All the pieces begin to fall into place for opening night, when the countless hours each member of the AOC team puts in often pays off with an appreciative standing ovation from the audience. Paul Han, who sings Bénédict in Béatrice et Bénédict,

PHOTOS, FROM TOP TO BOTTOM AMFS Music Director Robert Spano conducts the AOC orchestra during an opera dress rehearsal. AOC singers spend more than a thousand hours rehearsing their roles each summer. Here, two rehearse with Spano.

RYAN CUTLER (ALL PHOTOS)

Hundreds of behind-the-scenes hours are spent inside the Wheeler Opera House during the summer, preparing everything from sets to electrical wiring to lighting.

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FROM ASPEN TO THE MET

AOC Director Edward Berkeley works with students during the Opera Scenes Master Class series, held every Saturday in the Wheeler Opera House, to help them develop performance skills that will later be utilized in the AOC's fully staged operas.

says the AMFS is one of the busiest music festivals he’s ever participated in, but all the hard work is worth it to be involved in something that feels like family. “I think Ed Berkeley makes a super friendly environment,” says Han. “People still have to be very professional, but I think Ed and every other faculty member are trying to enjoy Aspen as much as we are. I think Aspen has a nice mixture of that.” For Berkeley, as exhausting as a summer directing the AOC may be, it’s more exciting than anything else. “A friend of mine, a director, used to say that some of the most fun he had was the time he started writing down the prop list because that’s when he realized all the details that really go into making a production,” says Berkeley. “I find a very similar thing excites me. You start imagining, ‘Well, this scene could be like this. What is it that’s going to really fulfill it?’ And the answer could be any number of different things, but it’s a very exciting process. It’s exhausting. It is. But that’s what makes doing opera exciting: the details.” The Aspen Opera Center presents fully staged performances of Puccini’s La bohème on July 14, 16, and 18; William Bolcom’s A Wedding on July 28 and 30; and Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict on August 16, 18, and 20. The AMFS’s 13th annual Opera Benefit takes place on July 18.

ALEX IRVIN

Aspen has a long history of identifying and training talented singers who go on to some of the world’s most prestigious opera houses. In the United States, no opportunity is more coveted by rising stars than a Metropolitan Opera debut—and many AMFS alumni have had the privilege to do just that. Bona fide stars such as Renée Fleming and Dawn Upshaw have by now accumulated a long list of credits at the Met, but they’re not the only ones. Bryan Hymel and Russell Thomas studied together in Aspen in 1998, with Hymel returning in 1999 and 2003–04. Hymel made his Met debut as Enée in Les Troyens in 2012, while Thomas made his Met debut as Herald in Don Carlo in 2004 and has sung with the Met in nine productions since. He will return to the Met this year as Ismaele in Nabucco. Also a ’90s AMFS alum is Danielle de Niese, who made her own Met debut as Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro in 1998. She’s performed in many Met productions since then, and most recently performed once again in Figaro, in 2014, but as Susanna. Brian Mulligan studied in Aspen from 2001-04, and made his Met debut as a Watchman in Die Frau ohne Schatten in 2003. Isabel Leonard attended the AMFS with Mulligan in 2004, and her Met debut was as Stéphano in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette in 2007. Jennifer Zetlan studied in Aspen from 2005–06 and in 2008, and made her Met debut as a French actress in Prokofiev’s War and Peace in 2007. That same summer, Tamara Wilson studied in Aspen— and in 2014 she made her own Met debut in the title role of Aida. Jamie Barton studied in Aspen in 2008 and made her Met Opera debut the following year as the Second Lady in Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Ying Fang studied in Aspen from 2011-12. She made her Met debut as the Female Voice and Podtochina’s daughter in Shostakovich’s The Nose in 2013. She is scheduled to return to the Met stage this year as Giannetta in L’elisir d’amore. One of the AOC’s most recent alumni, Ben Bliss, studied in Aspen in 2014 and made his Met debut that same year as Vogelgesang in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. He is scheduled to return to the Met stage this year as Tamino in the Met's English-language family adaptation of The Magic Flute.

FROM THE DANCE HALL TO THE CONCERT HALL

“For me,” Astor Piazzolla is thought to have said, “tango was always for the ear rather than the feet.” Indeed, the music of the famed Argentine composer revolutionized tango, merging the popular music with a classical sensibility that opened doors to concert halls around the world—including at the Aspen Music Festival and School, which will feature Piazzolla’s works in two concerts this summer. By Tamara Vallejos

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What do you think of when you hear the word “tango”? For many Americans, the image of a dance floor is instantly conjured—especially since the rise of popular television dance competitions, such as Dancing with the Stars. But the soul of tango lives far beyond the ballrooms of Hollywood, some 6,000 miles away on the shores of South America’s Río de la Plata, whose waters flow past the bustling, cosmopolitan city of Buenos Aires. It was by this “River of Silver” that tango was born in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when a large wave of immigration brought hundreds of thousands of Europeans to Argentina. Many settled in the port city of Buenos Aires, their cultures mingling together and joining with African influences remain-

pression of the people. And therefore it was a natural way of letting out all their happiness, sorrow, and everything you can imagine. This music speaks very well and is very deep, emotionally, melodically, and rhythmically.” Unfortunately, the stereotypes of tango, both dance and music, hardly do it justice. “The first thing you have to erase is the red rose. That doesn’t exist in Argentine tango,” says Del Curto of perhaps the most popular image associated with tango—although why it is, exactly, is a bit of a mystery. “The second thing is that ballroom tango is completely opposite of what Argentine tango is. In ballroom tango, the upper bodies are trying to separate from each other. But tango is trying to get close,

“ [Tango] is not how many notes you can play, or how fast you can play. It has nothing to do with that. It has to do with emotion.”

ing from the region’s earlier colonial slave trade. “[Tango] is a very natural music, meaning the people who performed this were immigrants that brought their own music—tarantellas, pasodobles—and they sat down in the patio and came up with this music without speaking the same language,” explains Héctor Del Curto, a renowned tango musician originally from Buenos Aires and now residing in the United States. Del Curto plays the bandoneón, an instrument essential to tango and in the same family as the accordion (though with an entirely different sound and approach to playing). “It grew from the people, as an ex-

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trying to be embraced. The same happens with musicians; it’s not that we’re going to be embracing each other, but musically we will be embracing each other.” Aspen Music Festival and School audiences can witness this musical intimacy for themselves during two tango concerts this summer, both featuring the works of the legendary Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla. The first, “Eternal Tango” on July 25, is a recital by the Héctor Del Curto Quintet. That’s followed up on July 28 with the special event “Viva Piazzolla!” in which superstar violinist (and AMFS alumna) Sarah Chang performs Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, while Del Curto

takes on the composer’s Bandoneón Concerto. Both events fit in wonderfully with the AMFS’s 2016 season theme, Invitation to Dance. But these programs would be welcomed in any season, thanks to the artistry of Piazzolla, who revolutionized the genre in the mid-twentieth century when he combined traditional tango with jazz influences and his own classical training to create the highly sophisticated nuevo tango (or “new tango”) style. “Astor Piazzolla was raised on tango,” says Asadour Santourian, the AMFS’s vice president for artistic administration and artistic advisor. “However, he also had a very formal classical education of the highest order. So when he returned to the business of being himself and writing tangos, he was ostracized, because he was now writing high art.” The clash between followers of the traditional and new styles was so extreme that Del Curto himself wasn’t especially thrilled when he had the opportunity perform with Piazzolla, just three years before Piazzolla passed away and long after his status as a tango legend had been cemented. At the time, Del Curto was just seventeen years old and already touring the world with the orchestra of famed tango musician and composer Osvaldo Pugliese. A stop in Amsterdam yielded a concert titled “Finally Together,” in which Pugliese’s orchestra and Piazzolla’s sextet combined to perform one of the most well-known and recognizable works from each composer: La Yumba by Pugliese and Adiós Nonino by Piazzolla. “The history of traditional and new tango was that they didn’t mix, like oil and water,” says Del Curto. “The traditionalists didn’t like the music of Astor Piazzolla, and in that group you could put my father. The music of Astor Piazzolla was not allowed in my house. So when I had the chance to perform with him, I was not very excited—until I heard his music.”

ABOVE Héctor Del Curto in performance. “The bandoneón makes a beautiful sound, like maybe it was human once. And in Héctor’s hands, it sounds that way,” says the AMFS’s Asadour Santourian.

EDUARDO MILIERIS (DEL CURTO); CLIFF WATTS (CHANG)

LEFT Violinist and AMFS alumna Sarah Chang performs Astor Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires as part of the “Viva Piazzolla!” special event on July 28.

It wasn’t the first time Del Curto had heard Piazzolla, but it was the first time in a live setting, where the composer’s brilliance was utterly undeniable. “His personality was in the music, in his writing and in his performance,” recalls Del Curto. Following that experience, Del Curto began to realize that although Piazzolla may have forged something new, his roots were still in traditional tango,

where passion and personality reigned. And understanding those roots would be essential to any aspiring tango musician. That’s a big reason why Del Curto recently co-founded the Stowe Tango Music Festival, which celebrates its third season this summer. Sponsored by the Argentine Tango Society and located in picturesque Vermont, the festival brings together talented students with world-class tango musicians

for a week of intensive study and performance. And for students who have spent years studying their instrument in a classical setting, the tango experience can be something quite special. “They find it very powerful to know the freedom that they have,” says Del Curto. “This music is not about how technically good you are, even though that’s a tool. It’s not how many notes you can play, or how fast you can play. It has nothing to do with that. It has to do with emotion. You cannot just play the notes that are on the paper; you have to put your personality into it.” Personality is precisely why Santourian requested that violinist Sarah Chang perform Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires this summer. It’s a work that is new to her, but one that he feels really aligns with her high level of showmanship. “I think her temperament is really suited for this music,” he says. “Sarah likes to make spectacular sound, and she likes to finish with a flourish. And this music provides that left and right.” Santourian also points out that technique and personality go hand-in-hand for the very best interpreters, which is why it’s a treat to have this lineup of artists for these Piazzolla-inspired concerts. “This music, as I said, is high art, which means there are demands and craft required for an instrument,” says Santourian. “But then having learned the instrument, you have to relax the rules because tango is much more sinewy than that precision of playing a perfect string quartet. It’s not about perfection. It’s about the grout, it’s about what happens between the rhythm of the notes.” The Héctor Del Curto Quintet performs “Eternal Tango,” a recital, on July 25. The special event “Viva Piazzolla!” featuring both Sarah Chang and Héctor Del Curto takes place on July 28.

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A NEW CAMPUS, A NEW ERA Hundreds of exceptionally talented young musicians come through Aspen each summer to study at the Aspen Music Festival and School. With the stunning new Matthew and Carolyn Bucksbaum Campus, they now have access to world-class facilities in one of the world’s most beautiful settings.

After thirteen years of intensive planning, negotiating, designing, digging, and, finally, building, the Aspen Music Festival and School has a fourteen-building, thirty-eight-acre teaching Campus to rival that of any music institution in the world. And what’s more, it accomplishes this while showcasing its spectacular natural surroundings

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and sharing the facilities with a pre-K–8 school in what is a unique, eco-friendly institutional partnership. It’s a combination of accomplishment that leaves even the Festival leadership responsible for the project amazed. “I knew it would be spectacular,” says AMFS President and CEO Alan Fletcher, “but then once the buildings

went up and I went out there to experience it, it was even more than I had imagined.” The second and final phase of the Matthew and Carolyn Bucksbaum Campus’s construction was completed in May. Bringing online these gracefully designed, acoustically honed spaces will usher in a new era for the Festival’s

ALEX IRVIN

By Jessica Cabe and Laura E. Smith

Crews worked seven days a week, twelve hours a day, through snow and freezing temperatures. Some workers even were there on Christmas.

musicians, supporting their pursuit of an even deeper level of artistry and opening new possibilities for their level of musical development in Aspen—and beyond. That’s not hyperbole. See, this wasn’t just a remodel. And it wasn’t done for any single, simple reason, like providing more space or looking on the surface like the rest of the Festival’s world-class buildings. When you get down to it, it was done for the purest, most important reason of all: to provide the best spaces possible for blossoming musicians and to support their artistic transformation. “One of the things we say about ourselves so frequently is that we are introducing young people to their careers,” says Fletcher. “Thus, it only makes sense that the experience of rehearsal and performance should be at the level that they’re going to experience when they become concertmasters of the Montreal Symphony or Chicago Symphony or become a soloist playing in

halls all over the world.” Before the redevelopment of the Bucksbaum Campus, conditions for the artist-faculty and young musicians of the AMFS were less than ideal for practice and rehearsal. Though they would perform in the breathtaking Benedict Music Tent, students used practice rooms designed in the 1960s that were cold, damp, and not exactly soundproof. Teachers would consider themselves lucky to lead lessons in carpeted trailers. And then there’s rehearsal by multiple orchestras. “The Aspen Conducting Academy, which was then, and is, one of the best conducting programs in the world, was in a building that was not meant for it,” says Fletcher. “The sound was terrible. You couldn’t hear across the orchestra.” That building also wasn’t big enough even for the small conducting orchestra. It was not unusual to see percus-

sionists overflowing into the parking lot, playing their parts from outside the building, because they physically would not fit inside the room. As if finding adequate rehearsal space for one small orchestra weren’t difficult enough, the AMFS’s summer has five full orchestras rehearsing and performing on a weekly basis. “We used to routinely have to build a platform over the seats in Harris Hall and put an orchestra to rehearse in there,” says Fletcher. “It took hours to set up that platform and have a rehearsal, and then tear it all down. That was just a routine thing because we didn’t have space. Now, we can rehearse three orchestras simultaneously on the Campus.” And rehearse them well. In the old spaces musicians couldn’t hear each other and struggled to stay in tune in the heat or cold. The new spaces are climate-controlled with custom-made, silent, slow-moving air systems and have acoustic treatments to create-

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“ I knew it would be spectacular, but then once the buildings went up…it was even more than I had imagined.” — AMFS PRESIDENT AND CEO ALAN FLETCHER

extraordinary sound carry and blend. Fletcher notes this will be a significant change for players striving for the highest levels. “Rehearsal, whether for chamber music or for an orchestra, is, only at the very beginning, about assembling the piece,” he says. “Then the real work, the real artistry, is in balance. If the players can’t hear each other, then how can they know? While the students’ and artist-faculty’s needs were the top priority in the planning and design of the new Campus, the one-hundred-plus year-round and summer staff members are in for a completely new work experience, too.

“On the old Campus, the staff worked in two completely separate 120-year-old buildings,” says Fletcher. “There were genuinely different cultures of the buildings. And in the summer, we were squeezed all over the place. Summer staff were in closets, not even on the Campus, wherever we could fit them. To have a really beautifully coordinated and designed office space makes a very serious improvement to what we will be able to accomplish here.” The Bucksbaum Campus redevelopment story has a happy ending, but it

was a long road to get to there. It was in 2003 that the AMFS and its now-partner Aspen Country Day School had its first charrette on the stage of Harris Concert Hall to explore the project. The Festival needed orchestral rehearsal halls and studios, the school needed classrooms. It looked like it could work if, and only if, a room divider could be found to split 800foot classrooms into 400-foot teaching studios. And the key was they had to be soundproof enough for lessons to take place simultaneously on both sides. “It started with the wall,” says Daniel Song, the AMFS’s vice president and general manager. “Funny, because the wall divides things, but it was the wall that actually brought us together.” Architect Harry Teague, who also designed the Benedict Music Tent and Harris Concert Hall, found a company called Skyfold that made acoustic, retractable room dividers. Nothing in

KATIE STOOKESBERRY

A large Romantic orchestra can rehearse in the 7,400-square-foot Hurst Hall. The building has extra height for acoustic “bloom” to mimic the sound blend and carry of a large auditorium.

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HARRY TEAGUE (LEFT); LAURA E. SMITH (RIGHT)

Left: A view over Castle Creek of the buildings in mid-build this past winter. Right: The 1890s Newman Bungalow, the home of the foreman of the Newman Silver Mine that occupied this site at that time, was picked up and moved about 150 feet to allow for better site design.

its product line was adequate, but the company said it would custom make a new product for this purpose. Many months and three tests later, Skyfold had done it and the organizations had their wall. The Campus could be built. “If that Skyfold didn’t work, we would have no Campus,” notes Song. Skyfold now sells these same room dividers to other organizations across the country. Another challenge was the extremely complex business negotiations between the two organizations, which resulted in a 500-page agreement, signed in 2012. The talks lasted long enough to exist through multiple Board chairs and presidents, on both sides. At one point, talks were pulled from a slump by an AMFS Board member, Sam Brown, whose professional experience included an appointment by President Clinton to Vienna to mediate discussions among 52 nations on Soviet disarmament. Approvals from City of Aspen and Pitkin County officials also took years, and a total of 46 separate meetings with various councils and commissions. The final key to the process was a $25 million lead gift given by Carolyn and Matthew Bucksbaum in 2007 for the project funding. The Bucksbaums, from Iowa, had visited the Festival on a road trip for their first wedding anniversary in 1951. This gift, the largest ever given in Aspen, anchored the $75 mil-

lion project, whose costs are split between the two partners. Teague’s deep relationship with the Campus pre-dated even his work on the Tent and Hall: As a graduate student, he worked on the buildings on the old Campus with another Aspen architect, Fritz Benedict. To re-imagine the space, and the buildings, Teague spent hours on the Campus at different times of day, sketching the profiles of the surrounding mountains. These eventually came to be incorporated directly into the design of the rehearsal halls through materials and angles that represent “sky, earth, and water.” The ultimate 105,000-square-foot plan doubled the square footage of the Campus. Building was completed in two phases—phase one was completed in 2013, and phase two was completed this year—and each phase could have taken two years on its own. Instead, each was completed in nine months. “It’s the only way it would work,” said Jenny Elliot, senior vice president for strategy and administration and the overall manager of the project. “Or else we would have had to cancel a season. And we were not going to cancel a season. This was our only option.” Approaching contractors with this schedule often went about as well as you’d imagine. “Some said no; some, their brains

exploded,” Elliot says with a laugh. “But Shaw was like, ‘Well, of course you need it done in nine months.’ They’d done it twice before.” Shaw Construction also built Harris Concert Hall, which they were able to complete in one year because the Hall wasn’t in use prior to its construction, and the Benedict Music Tent, which was finished in nine months. So how in the world did the Bucksbaum Campus get finished in two bouts of nine months when it should have taken four full years? “You pay for it,” says Elliot. “Those are your choices. You can sacrifice schedule, quality, or money, and we sacrificed money.” More people, more hours, and better preplanning all had a hand in the quick and most efficient completion of the project. Crews worked seven days a week, twelve hours a day, through snow and freezing temperatures. Some workers even were there on Christmas. Even an arduous construction schedule like this one offered its moments of fun, though, and the historic nature of the site provided some quirky challenges—as well as some artifacts from the site’s former iterations as a silver mine and, briefly, as a hotel and resort. “They found old mining stuff; they found wagon wheels,” says Elliot. “There was a spur of the old Midland Railroad that came all the way down

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Castle Creek Road just to that end of Campus. There was stuff found in the Hardy Building from when it was a resort—little napkins that say ‘Four Seasons.’” Building on a historic site has its charms—and its challenges. One of the original buildings from the silver mine, used as the foreman’s house, needed to be moved in order to accommodate the site plan. While Bailey House Movers picked it up and rolled it to its new site relatively quickly, settling it there was a longer task. The stone facing all around the bottom of the building was removed in order to move the building, and had to be replaced exactly. Each stone was numbered and returned to its proper place in the exact order and with the exact methods used when it was originally built in the 1890s. The crew even mixed mortar in the way it would have been mixed a century ago, and they applied it in the historically accurate style, too. “If you look at it, the mortar is rounded in between each stone,” Elliot said. “Most buildings you see right now is the

opposite.” The number of challenges and hurdles to be overcome to create this beautiful new space, the leaps of faith, and strokes of luck, and dedicated people who put in their hearts and souls—these things could fill a book. One might say that in order for everything to have happened the way it did, the Bucksbaum Campus was just meant to be. Elliot points out that the goal had always been to “preserve all the things that were amazing about the Campus and about the Music Festival, and keep its soul, while moving the quality to an astronomically higher level.” Mission accomplished. The new Campus will completely change the legacy of the AMFS. Musicians will be inspired by the graceful design of the spaces, will be better able to hear themselves and each other, and, with this support, will go deeper into their art. This will noticeably improve performances at the AMFS, sure, but more

importantly, its effects will ripple out through the entire classical music world. The care taken to create these buildings will matter for the one student, working alone in a practice room on a single passage of music, and will also matter in the bigger picture of art in our time. The musicians coming out of this unmatched Campus will spread their talents elsewhere, and then the cycle will start again with each summer. No, the creation of the Bucksbaum Campus project was no small feat. It’s not a remodel; it’s not a face-lift. It’s a rebirth. “Something like this will never happen again,” Song said. “So many things, from the way the contracts were negotiated to the weather, it won’t happen again. We’re never going to talk about building like this ever again, and especially in the arts. Where are you going to have a place that’s doing something this crazy and amazing? People will build a hall. One hall. But something like this? It’s a completely different thing.”

KATIE STOOKESBERRY

A new building, in the foreground, connects to the historic silver mining building, in the background, by breezeways. Restored and highlighted in the historic building are the original fireplace and inglenook, the wood floor, and even the room-sized safe used by the silver mine operators in the 1890s.

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THE HIGH-FLYING, MUSICAL ACROBATICS OF CARMINA BURANA Each year, careful consideration goes into selecting the perfect work to close the Aspen Music Festival and School season. For 2016, that’s one of the most recognizable pieces of all time: Carl Orff’s Carmina burana. What makes this 1930s cantata— based on a series of medieval poems—so eternally crowd-pleasing?

ALEX IRVIN

By Courtney Thompson How do you wrap up a festival season of more than 300 classical music events? For the powers-that-be of the Aspen Music Festival and School, the answer is two words: Carmina burana. “What we wanted above all was a program that would be a crowning achievement for the summer,” says Asadour Santourian, the AMFS’s vice president for artistic administration and artistic advisor. “It has two chief tasks: to be a thrilling end to the season and at the same time bring great music to our students and patrons. We were looking for a hyper-charged work that

could linger in memory long after the Festival season is over.” German composer Carl Orff composed Carmina burana in the 1930s— and based his work on a series of centuries-old medieval poems. But these texts, dealing with themes that have been constant throughout humanity, such as the joys and struggles of wealth, lust, and gluttony, were just as relevant in the ’30s as they continue to be today. And then, of course, there’s “O Fortuna.” This opening movement to Carmina burana is largely what has catapulted Orff’s work into the collective

“If you know [Carmina burana] from a recording, you only know half of it, because the impact from a live experience is tremendous.”

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“Where Have I Heard It?” Perhaps no other movement in music is as instantly recognizable as the one that begins Carl Orff’s Carmina burana. Thanks to its heart-pounding dramatics, “O Fortuna” has transcended the concert hall and made its way into film, television, video games, advertisements, and even sports arenas around the world. On IMDb.com, the web’s most comprehensive listing of film and television credits, you’ll find more than eighty instances of Carmina burana appearing both on the big and small screens—and that doesn’t even include the countless television commercials and movie trailers that have used Orff’s music to build up anticipation and excitement. Oddly enough, the thrilling “O

consciousness, thanks to the immense punch it packs in just under three minutes. Though known for this steadily driving and ultimately explosive opening movement, Carmina burana encompasses many moods as it explores the varied themes of the poems on which it’s based. “It of course has all the noise, but it also has some very tender and beautiful moments,” says AMFS President and CEO Alan Fletcher. Bringing these many texts to life at the AMFS’s final concert of the season are the Colorado Symphony Chorus, led by Duain Wolfe; the Colorado Children’s Chorale, led by Deborah DeSantis; and soprano Amanda Woodbury, tenor Matthew Plenk, and baritone Noel Bouley. And although many of these artists have performed Carmina burana in the past, the piece is anything but a cakewalk. “Each of the vocalists have these death-defying high-wire acts that they have to accomplish,” says Santourian.

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Fortuna” has somehow become a soundtrack staple for TV comedies, in particular. Friends, How I Met Your Mother, Glee, The Office, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and even animated mainstay The Simpsons have all featured Orff’s music. Late night talk shows have often used it, too, with “O Fortuna” included in episodes of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Late Show with David Letterman. Although Carmina burana is usually performed as a cantata, Orff originally envisioned a fully staged work that included dance. The stirring music certainly lends itself to movement—which is why selections from Carmina burana have become frequently choreographed pieces in figure skating, with stars such as Mi-

“The soprano, she has a cadenza that just bursts out of this lyrical moment that is the recapitulation of the opening theme. The tenor has multiple verses in one movement where he depicts a roasting swan. So his song is written at the highest extreme of the tenor male voice. The baritone also has to switch into the highest gear of his voice. It not only gives coloring to the text but also gives range and altitude.” “This role does push the extremes of the upper notes of all the singers,” agrees Bouley, an AMFS alumnus who is returning for the first time as a guest artist. “The baritone has to use a falsetto, which is not something a standard voice uses. It’s been a fun challenge, but also one that has pushed me, developing a new side of my voice that I didn’t really know that I had.” The challenge of performing Carmina burana, however, is worth it—and not just for an individual sense of accomplishment. Performing Orff’s piece alongside ensembles, soloists, and a

chelle Kwan, Evgeni Plushenko, and Paul Wylie including Orff’s work in competition or exhibition programs. It’s also frequently performed to in ballroom dance settings, including reality competition shows like So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing with the Stars, and Strictly Come Dancing. The staying power of not just “O Fortuna” but the entirety of Carmina burana means its inclusion in popular culture is likely to continue far into the future—and that Orff’s stunning music will remain in the memories of AMFS audiences long after hearing the final notes of the 2016 season. —Tamara Vallejos

full orchestra creates a magic moment far greater than the sum of its parts. “If you know it from a recording, you only know half of it, because the impact from a live experience is tremendous,” says Fletcher. That’s true for both the musicians and the audience. “There’s this massive sound that comes out,” says Bouley of a Carmina burana performance. “It’s like riding a roller coaster, with the adrenaline it gives you. To have all of those forces combined, along with the audience . . . it’s a real high to be in the middle of all that.” The Aspen Festival Orchestra’s final concert of the 2016 Aspen Music Festival and School season takes place on Sunday, August 21, at the Benedict Music Tent. In addition to Orff’s Carmina burana, the program also includes selections from Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette.

ABRIDGED CALENDAR 2016 ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL AND SCHOOL SEASON JUNE 30–AUGUST 21 The AMFS offers up to fifteen events a day—many free!—including concerts, operas, lectures, family events, public master classes, guided tours, and more. For a full listing of events, visit www.aspenmusicfestival.com, or pick up a weekly printed schedule available at hotels and visitor centers around Aspen.

joins AMFS President and CEO Alan Fletcher for a conversation about his twenty years with the quartet and his new book describing that experience. Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra Benedict Music Tent 6 pm, $25 Hugh Wolff conductor Blake Pouliot violin (2016 Dorothy DeLay Prize Winner)

Violinist Joshua Bell performs with the Aspen Chamber Symphony on July 15. THURSDAY, JUNE 30

A Recital by Philip Setzer violin, David Finckel cello, and Wu Han piano Harris Concert Hall 7 pm, $55 Featuring works by Beethoven. FRIDAY, JULY 1

Aspen Chamber Symphony Benedict Music Tent 6 pm, $78 David Robertson conductor Orli Shaham piano LIGETI: Romanian Concerto CHOPIN: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, op. 21 SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 2 in C major, op. 61 SATURDAY, JULY 2

RYAN CUTLER

Opera Scenes Master Class Wheeler Opera House 10 am, $40 Chamber Music Harris Concert Hall 4:30 pm, $45 Chamber music gems played by the AMFS’s brilliant artistfaculty.

A Special Event with Smokey Robinson Benedict Music Tent 8:30 pm, $90, $60, $375 with pre-concert VIP dinner SUNDAY, JULY 3

Aspen Festival Orchestra Benedict Music Tent 4 pm, $90 Robert Spano conductor Renée Fleming soprano STUCKY: Dreamwaltzes R. STRAUSS: Four Last Songs RACHMANINOFF: Symphonic Dances, op. 45 Selections of songs and arias TUESDAY, JULY 5

Special Event: Master Class with Renée Fleming soprano Harris Concert Hall 11 am, $40 WEDNESDAY, JULY 6

High Notes Panel Discussion Paepcke Auditorium 12 pm, free Edward Dusinberre, first violinist for the Takács Quartet,

SATURDAY, JULY 9

A Recital by the Takács Quartet Harris Concert Hall 8:30 pm, $55 Featuring works by Beethoven, Shostakovich, and Brahms. THURSDAY, JULY 7

Piano Master Class Harris Concert Hall 10 am, $25 A Recital by Augustin Hadelich violin Harris Concert Hall 8 pm, $65 Featuring works by Telemann, Paganini, David Lang, J. S. Bach, and Ysaÿe. FRIDAY, JULY 8

Aspen Chamber Symphony Benedict Music Tent 6 pm, $78 Nicholas McGegan conductor Emmanuel Pahud flute Simone Porter violin C. P. E. BACH: Flute Concerto in D minor, H. 425 (W. 22) BRUCH: Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, op. 26 MOZART: Andante for Flute in C major, K. 315 BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 7 in A major, op. 92

Chamber Music with Anton Nel piano Harris Concert Hall 8 pm, $45 Elaine Douvas oboe Joaquin Valdepeñas clarinet Per Hannevold bassoon John Zirbel horn Sylvia Rosenberg violin James Dunham viola Michael Mermagen cello MOZART: Piano Quintet in E-flat major, K. 452 DEBUSSY: from Preludes, Book II BRAHMS: Piano Quartet in G minor, op. 25 SUNDAY, JULY 10

Aspen Festival Orchestra Benedict Music Tent 4 pm, $82 Ludovic Morlot conductor Augustin Hadelich violin BERLIOZ: Le corsair Overture, op. 21 DVOŘÁK: Violin Concerto in A minor, B. 96/108, op. 53 STRAVINSKY: Symphony in C RAVEL: La valse

IMPROMPTU SUMMER 2016

MONDAY, JULY 11

Matthew and Carolyn Bucksbaum Campus Dedication 10 am, free Gotta Move! Meadows Hospitality Tent 10:30 am, free, for ages 2–7 with an adult Chamber Music Harris Concert Hall 6 pm, $45 Chamber music gems played by the AMFS’s brilliant artistfaculty. Finckel-Wu Han Chamber Music Studio Recital Harris Concert Hall 7:30 pm, free TUESDAY, JULY 12

Tunes & Tales Basalt Regional Library 10:30 am, free, for ages 3–9 with an adult Harris Concert Hall Master Class Harris Concert Hall 1 pm, $25 Music with a View Aspen Art Museum 6 pm, free A Recital by Joyce Yang piano Harris Concert Hall 7:30 pm, $55 Featuring works by D. Scarlatti, Debussy, Granados, Carl Vine, and Gershwin. WEDNESDAY, JULY 13

High Notes Panel Discussion Christ Episcopal Church 12 pm, free Conductor Leon Botstein joins AMFS President and CEO Alan Fletcher for a discussion on this season's mini-festival celebrating the mid-twentiethcentury symphonists. Mountain Living Magazine presents 2016 House Musics (Opera) Private residence 3:30 pm, $100 Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra Benedict Music Tent 6 pm, $25 Leon Botstein conductor

Special Event: A Recital by Midori violin Harris Concert Hall 8:30 pm, $75 Featuring works by J. S. Bach. THURSDAY, JULY 14

Piano Master Class Harris Concert Hall 10 am, $25 Tunes & Tales Pitkin County Library 10:30 am, free, for ages 3–9 with an adult Puccini’s La bohème Wheeler Opera House 7 pm, $70, $25 obstructed Ramón Tebar conductor Edward Berkeley director Aspen Opera Center A Recital by Simone Dinnerstein piano Harris Concert Hall 8 pm, $55 Featuring J. S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations. FRIDAY, JULY 15

Aspen Chamber Symphony Benedict Music Tent 6 pm, $85 Robert Spano conductor Joshua Bell violin Sarah Shafer soprano SAINT-SAËNS: Violin Concerto No. 3 in B minor, op. 61 MAHLER: Symphony No. 4 in G major

Ramón Tebar conductor Edward Berkeley director Aspen Opera Center A Recital by Arie Vardi piano and Yeol Eum Son piano Harris Concert Hall 8 pm, $55 Featuring works by J. S. Bach, Beethoven, and Schubert. SUNDAY, JULY 17

Aspen Festival Orchestra Benedict Music Tent 4 pm, $90 Vasily Petrenko conductor Midori violin TCHAIKOVSKY: Violin Concerto in D major, op. 35 SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 8 in C minor, op. 65 MONDAY, JULY 18

Guided Tour of Bucksbaum Campus 10:15 am, free Chamber Music Harris Concert Hall 6 pm, $45 Chamber music gems played by the AMFS’s brilliant artistfaculty. Puccini’s La bohème Wheeler Opera House $1,000 benefit evening $70 opera only, $25 obstructed Ramón Tebar conductor Edward Berkeley director Aspen Opera Center

SATURDAY, JULY 16

TUESDAY, JULY 19

Opera Scenes Master Class Wheeler Opera House 10 am, $40

Tunes & Tales Basalt Regional Library 10:30 am, free, for ages 3–9 with an adult

Music on the Mountain Top of Aspen Mountain (gondola ticket or hike up mountain required) 1 pm, free Chamber Music Harris Concert Hall 4:30 pm, $45 Chamber music gems played by the AMFS’s brilliant artistfaculty. Puccini’s La bohème Wheeler Opera House 7 pm, $70, $25 obstructed

IMPROMPTU SUMMER 2016

Harris Concert Hall Master Class Harris Concert Hall 1 pm, $25 Music with a View Aspen Art Museum 6 pm, free Special Event: A 40th Anniversary Celebration of the Emerson String Quartet Harris Concert Hall 7:30 pm, $65 Featuring works by Haydn, Berg, and Brahms.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20

High Notes Panel Discussion Christ Episcopal Church 12 pm, free Alan Fletcher in conversation with conductor Hugh Wolff and pianist Behzod Abduraimov. Mountain Living Magazine presents 2016 House Musics (Chamber) Private residence 3:30 pm, $65 Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra Benedict Music Tent 6 pm, $25 Ludovic Morlot conductor William Hagen violin James Dunham viola Shakespeare Songs: Of Love and Madness Harris Concert Hall 8:30 pm, $55 Aspen Opera Center Singers Kenneth Merrill piano Elizabeth Buccheri piano Hung-Kuan Chen piano Elizabeth Novella soprano Megan Samarin mezzo-soprano Zoe Johnson soprano Sofia Selowsky mezzo-soprano Featuring Shakespeare-inspired works by Purcell, Berlioz, Beethoven, Bellini, and Thomas. THURSDAY, JULY 21

Piano Master Class Harris Concert Hall 10 am, $25 Tunes & Tales Pitkin County Library 10:30 am, free, for ages 3–9 with an adult Family Concert I: Copland’s Appalachian Spring Hurst Hall, Bucksbaum Campus Free, for all ages 4 pm food and activities 5 pm concert A Recital by Behzod Abduraimov piano Harris Concert Hall 8 pm, $55 Featuring works by Vivaldi/J. S. Bach/Cortot, J. S. Bach/Busoni, Schubert, Beethoven, and Prokofiev.

FRIDAY, JULY 22

Aspen Chamber Symphony Benedict Music Tent 6 pm, $78 Patrick Summers conductor Richard Woodhams oboe Michael Rusinek clarinet Nancy Goeres bassoon John Zirbel horn Gil Shaham violin MOZART: Sinfonia concertante in E-flat major, K. Anh.9 (K. 297b) SESSIONS: Violin Concerto HAYDN: Symphony No. 88 in G major, Hob. I/88 SATURDAY, JULY 23

Opera Scenes Master Class Wheeler Opera House 10 am, $40 Music on the Mountain Top of Aspen Mountain (gondola ticket or hike up mountain required) 1 pm, free Chamber Music Harris Concert Hall 4:30 pm, $45 Chamber music gems played by the AMFS’s brilliant artistfaculty. A Recital by Misha and Cipa Dichter pianos Harris Concert Hall 8 pm, $55 Featuring works by Schubert, Brahms, Dvořák, and Infante. SUNDAY, JULY 24

Aspen Festival Orchestra Benedict Music Tent 4 pm, $82 Hugh Wolff conductor Behzod Abduraimov piano DOMINICK ARGENTO: Tango from The Dream of Valentino RACHMANINOFF: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, op. 30 WAGNER: Orchestral Selections from The Ring of the Nibelung MONDAY, JULY 25

Guided Tour of Bucksbaum Campus 10:15 am, free

Gotta Move! Meadows Hospitality Tent 10:30 am, free, for ages 2–7 with an adult Chamber Music Harris Concert Hall 6 pm, $45 Chamber music gems played by the AMFS’s brilliant artistfaculty. Eternal Tango: Héctor Del Curto Quintet Harris Concert Hall 8 pm, $55 TUESDAY, JULY 26

Tunes & Tales Basalt Regional Library 10:30 am, free, for ages 3–9 with an adult Harris Concert Hall Master Class Harris Concert Hall 1 pm, $25 Music with a View Aspen Art Museum 6 pm, free A Recital by Vadym Kholodenko piano Harris Concert Hall 7:30 pm, $55 Featuring works by Schumann and Skryabin. WEDNESDAY, JULY 27

High Notes Panel Discussion Paepcke Auditorium 12 pm, free Alan Fletcher in conversation with composer William Bolcom discussing Bolcom’s opera A Wedding. Mountain Living Magazine presents 2016 House Musics (Opera) Private residence 3:30 pm, $100 Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra Benedict Music Tent 6 pm, $25 George Jackson conductor Adele Anthony violin A Recital by the American Brass Quintet Harris Concert Hall 8:30 pm, $55

Featuring works by Clint Needham, Kenneth Fuchs, Eric Nathan, and Stoltzer. THURSDAY, JULY 28

Piano Master Class Harris Concert Hall 10 am, $25 Tunes & Tales Pitkin County Library 10:30 am, free, for ages 3–9 with an adult Hotel Music at Hotel Jerome 3:30 pm, $40 Special Event: Viva Piazzolla! with Sarah Chang Harris Concert Hall 6 pm, $75 William Kunhardt conductor Héctor Del Curto bandoneón Sarah Chang violin Ryan Shirar piano Featuring works by Piazzolla and Piazzolla/Leonid Desyatnikov. William Bolcom’s A Wedding Wheeler Opera House 7 pm, $35, $25 obstructed Scott Terrell conductor David Schweizer director Edward Berkeley AOC director Aspen Opera Center A Recital by Stefan Jackiw violin and Jeremy Denk piano Harris Concert Hall 8:30 pm, $55 Featuring works by Ives, Sweney, Lowry, Barthélemon, Root, Kiallmark, and Mason. FRIDAY, JULY 29

Aspen Chamber Symphony Benedict Music Tent 6 pm, $78 Pietari Inkinen conductor Ray Chen violin DEBUSSY/RAVEL: Danse LALO: Symphonie espagnole, op. 21 BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 2 in D major, op. 36 SATURDAY, JULY 30

Opera Scenes Master Class Wheeler Opera House 10 am, $40 Jane Glover conductor Edward Berkeley AOC director

Aspen Conducting Academy Orchestra Music on the Mountain Top of Aspen Mountain (gondola ticket or hike up mountain required) 1 pm, free Chamber Music Harris Concert Hall 4:30 pm, $45 Chamber music gems played by the AMFS’s brilliant artistfaculty. William Bolcom’s A Wedding Wheeler Opera House 7 pm, $35, $25 obstructed Scott Terrell conductor David Schweizer director Edward Berkeley AOC director A Recital by Jeremy Denk piano Harris Concert Hall 8 pm, $55 SUNDAY, JULY 31

Aspen Festival Orchestra Benedict Music Tent 4 pm, $82 Tomáš Netopil conductor Noah Bendix-Balgley violin Alisa Weilerstein cello J. STRAUSS JR.: The Blue Danube, op. 314 R. STRAUSS: Suite from Der Rosenkavalier, op. 59 BRAHMS: Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor, op. 102 R. STRAUSS: Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, op. 28 MONDAY, AUGUST 1

Guided Tour of Bucksbaum Campus 10:15 am, free Chamber Music Harris Concert Hall 6 pm, $45 Chamber music gems played by the AMFS’s brilliant artistfaculty. Season Benefit A Feast of Music: Invitation to Dance For more information about AMFS benefits, contact Jenny McDonough at 970-205-5063.

IMPROMPTU SUMMER 2016

TUESDAY, AUGUST 2

Tunes & Tales Basalt Regional Library 10:30 am, free, for ages 3–9 with an adult Harris Concert Hall Master Class Harris Concert Hall 1 pm, $25 A Recital: Jonathan Biss Plays Beethoven Piano Sonatas I Harris Concert Hall 7:30 pm, $55 The first of a three-part series of recitals featuring Beethoven piano sonatas by this Beethoven scholar. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3

High Notes Panel Discussion Paepcke Auditorium 12 pm, free Alan Fletcher in conversation with composer Kaija Saariaho and violinist Jennifer Koh discussing Saariaho’s music. Mountain Living Magazine presents 2016 House Musics (Opera) Private residence 3:30 pm, $100 Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra Benedict Music Tent 6 pm, $25 Jane Glover conductor Stefan Jackiw violin A Recital by Jennifer Koh violin Harris Concert Hall 8:30 pm, $55 Timothy Weiss conductor Aspen Contemporary Ensemble Featuring works by J. S. Bach and Kaija Saariaho. THURSDAY, AUGUST 4

Tunes & Tales Pitkin County Library 10:30 am, free, for ages 3–9 with an adult Hotel Music at The St. Regis Aspen Resort The St. Regis Aspen Resort 3:30 pm, $40 A Recital by the Pacifica Quartet Harris Concert Hall

8 pm, $55 Esther Heideman soprano Julian Martin piano Featuring works by Chausson, Shostakovich, and Beethoven. FRIDAY, AUGUST 5

Piano Master Class Harris Concert Hall 10 am, $25 Aspen Chamber Symphony Benedict Music Tent 6 pm, $78 Robert Spano conductor Matthew Worth baritone Camilla Hoitenga flute SIBELIUS: Pohjola’s Daughter, op. 49 KAIJA SAARIAHO: Cinq reflets SAARIAHO: Aile du songe SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 3 in C major, op. 52 SATURDAY, AUGUST 6

Opera Scenes Master Class Wheeler Opera House 10 am, $40 Patrick Summers conductor Edward Berkeley AOC director Aspen Conducting Academy Orchestra Music on the Mountain Top of Aspen Mountain (gondola ticket or hike up mountain required) 1 pm, free Chamber Music Harris Concert Hall 4:30 pm, $45 Chamber music gems played by the AMFS’s brilliant artistfaculty. A Recital by Sharon Isbin guitar Harris Concert Hall 8 pm, $65 Colin Davin guitar Pacifica Quartet Featuring works by Rodrigo, Falla, Tan Dun, and Howard Shore. SUNDAY, AUGUST 7

Percussion Installation: Inuksuit David Karetsky Music Lawn 1:30 pm, free

IMPROMPTU SUMMER 2016

Aspen Festival Orchestra Benedict Music Tent 4 pm, $82 Miguel Harth-Bedoya conductor Stephen Hough piano CHABRIER: España, rhapsody RACHMANINOFF: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, op. 43 LUTOSŁAWSKI: Paganini Variations for Solo Piano and Orchestra BRAHMS/SCHOENBERG: Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, op. 25

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10

MONDAY, AUGUST 8

Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra Benedict Music Tent 6 pm, $25 Robert Spano conductor Tengku Irfan piano

Guided Tour of Bucksbaum Campus 10:15 am, free Gotta Move! Meadows Hospitality Tent 10:30 am, free, for ages 2–7 with an adult Percussion Ensemble Harris Concert Hall 6 pm, $25 Jonathan Haas conductor Lauren Feider soprano BAZELON: Bazz Ma Tazz JOSEPH PEREIRA: Mallet Quartet KABELÁČ: 8 Inventions, op. 45 — GINASTERA: Cantata para América mágica, op. 27 TUESDAY, AUGUST 9

Tunes & Tales Basalt Regional Library 10:30 am, free, for ages 3–9 with an adult Harris Concert Hall Master Class Harris Concert Hall 1 pm, $25 Music with a View Aspen Art Museum 6 pm, free A Recital by Daniil Trifonov piano Harris Concert Hall 7:30 pm, $65 Featuring works by J. S. Bach/ Brahms, Liszt, Schubert, and Brahms.

High Notes Panel Discussion Paepcke Auditorium 12 pm, free Alan Fletcher in conversation with violinist Robert McDuffie and R.E.M.’s Mike Mills discussing Mills’s Concerto for Violin, Rock Band and String Orchestra. Mountain Living Magazine presents 2016 House Musics (Chamber) Private residence 3:30 pm, $65

A Recital by the American String Quartet Harris Concert Hall 8:30 pm, $55 James Dunham viola Featuring works by Mendelssohn, George Tsontakis, and Beethoven. THURSDAY, AUGUST 11

Piano Master Class Harris Concert Hall 10 am, $25 Tunes & Tales Pitkin County Library 10:30 am, free, for ages 3–9 with an adult An Eclectic Evening with Robert McDuffie and R.E.M.’s Mike Mills Benedict Music Tent 7 pm, $60, $35 Robert McDuffie violin Elizabeth Pridgen piano William Kunhardt conductor Mike Mills piano, bass John Neff guitar William Tonks guitar Patrick Ferguson drums Featuring works by John Adams and Tchaikovsky, as well as Mike Mills’s Concerto for Violin, Rock Band and String Orchestra.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 12

MONDAY, AUGUST 15

THURSDAY, AUGUST 18

Aspen Chamber Symphony Benedict Music Tent 6 pm, $78 Johannes Debus conductor Daniil Trifonov piano MENDELSSOHN: Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, op. 21 SCHUMANN: Piano Concerto in A minor, op. 54 MENDELSSOHN: Symphony No. 5 in D major, op. 107, “Reformation”

Guided Tour of Bucksbaum Campus 10:15 am, free

Piano Master Class Harris Concert Hall 10 am, $25

Chamber Music Harris Concert Hall 6 pm, $45 Chamber music gems played by the AMFS’s brilliant artistfaculty.

Family Concert II: Tchaikovsky’s Suite from The Nutcracker Harris Concert Hall Free, for all ages 4 pm food and activities 5 pm concert

SATURDAY, AUGUST 13

Opera Scenes Master Class Wheeler Opera House 10 am, $40 Music on the Mountain Top of Aspen Mountain (gondola ticket or hike up mountain required) 1 pm, free Chamber Music Harris Concert Hall 4:30 pm, $45 Chamber music gems played by the AMFS’s brilliant artistfaculty. A Recital by Vladimir Feltsman piano Harris Concert Hall 8 pm, $55 Featuring works by Brahms and Musorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. SUNDAY, AUGUST 14

Ice Cream Social David Karetsky Music Lawn 2:30 pm, free Aspen Festival Orchestra Benedict Music Tent 4 pm, $82 James Gaffigan conductor Yefim Bronfman piano IVES: Central Park in the Dark PROKOFIEV: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, op. 167 HARRIS: Symphony No. 3 BARTÓK: Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin, BB 82, op. 19 From the Top Christopher O'Riley host Harris Concert Hall 7 pm, $25

TUESDAY, AUGUST 16

Harris Concert Hall Master Class Harris Concert Hall 1 pm, $25 Music with a View Aspen Art Museum 6 pm, free Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict Wheeler Opera House 7 pm, $50, $25 obstructed Johannes Debus conductor Edward Berkeley director A Recital: Jonathan Biss Plays Beethoven Piano Sonatas II Harris Concert Hall 7:30 pm, $55 The second of a three-part series of recitals featuring Beethoven piano sonatas by this Beethoven scholar. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17

High Notes Panel Discussion Paepcke Auditorium 12 pm, free Alan Fletcher in conversation with pianist Inon Barnatan and composer Mohammed Fairouz. Mountain Living Magazine presents 2016 House Musics (Opera) Private residence 3:30 pm, $100 Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra Benedict Music Tent 6 pm, $25 Christian Arming conductor A Recital: Jonathan Biss Plays Beethoven Piano Sonatas III Harris Concert Hall 8:30 pm, $55 The third of a three-part series of recitals featuring Beethoven piano sonatas by this Beethoven scholar.

Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict Wheeler Opera House 7 pm, $50, $25 obstructed Johannes Debus conductor Edward Berkeley director A Recital by Inon Barnatan piano Harris Concert Hall 8 pm, $55 Featuring works by Handel, Brahms, and Sebastian Currier FRIDAY, AUGUST 19

Aspen Chamber Symphony Benedict Music Tent 6 pm, $78 Cristian Măcelaru conductor Kate Lindsey mezzo-soprano Siudy Flamenco Dance Theater GINASTERA: Variaciones concertantes, op. 23 MOHAMMED FAIROUZ: Songs from Tyhpoid Mary (World Premiere) FALLA: El amor brujo (Love Bewitched) SATURDAY, AUGUST 20

Opera Scenes Master Class Wheeler Opera House 10 am, $40 Mountain Living Magazine presents 2016 House Musics (Opera) Private residence 3:30 pm, $100 Chamber Music Harris Concert Hall 4:30 pm, $45 Chamber music gems played by the AMFS’s brilliant artistfaculty. Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict Wheeler Opera House 7 pm, $50, $25 obstructed Johannes Debus conductor Edward Berkeley director

Special Event: Bassists Edgar Meyer and Christian McBride Aspen Art Museum 7 pm and 9:15 pm, $55, $25; $100 for 7 pm with 6 pm dinner For tickets call 970-920-4996. Presented in association with Jazz Aspen Snowmass A Recital by Marc-André Hamelin Harris Concert Hall 8 pm, $55 Featuring works by Haydn, Schubert, Feinberg, Brahms, Ravel, and Ravel/Marc-André Hamelin. SUNDAY, AUGUST 21

Aspen Festival Orchestra Benedict Music Tent 4 pm, $90 Robert Spano conductor Amanda Woodbury soprano Matthew Plenk tenor Noel Bouley baritone Colorado Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe director Colorado Children’s Chorale Deborah DeSantis director BERLIOZ: Selections from Roméo et Juliette ORFF: Carmina burana POST-SEASON EVENTS

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Benedict Music Tent 6 pm, $85, $35 Manfred Honeck conductor Tuesday, August 23 Pinchas Zukerman violin BRUCH: Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, op. 26 BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major, "Romantic" Wednesday, August 24 Michael Rusinek clarinet MOZART: Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622 MAHLER: Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor Thursday, August 25 Pinchas Zukerman violin DVOŘÁK: Symphony Suite from Rusalka BERG: Violin Concerto R. STRAUSS: Symphonic Rhapsody from Elektra

IMPROMPTU SUMMER 2016

FACULTY FOCUS

ALEX IRVIN

PHOTO BY ALEX IRVIN

LIFE LESSONS FROM THE PRACTICE ROOM

IMPROMPTU SUMMER 2016

“ Once you learn to practice well, you can study anything well.” –A MFS ARTIST-FACULTY MEMBER WARREN DECK PICTURED LEFT WORKING WITH STUDENTS.

By Laura E. Smith Can studying music make you a better businessperson, parent, or community member? Indeed, it can, say the professionals who have not only lived this themselves but who also teach the six hundred-plus young musicians who come to Aspen each summer. “[Studying an instrument] is the perfect training for both being able to express your own voice and to listen to others and figure out how to fit into a community,” says Heidi Castleman, Aspen Music Festival and School viola artist-faculty member and professor of viola at The Juilliard School. “I think being able to play an instrument and play with others is incredibly valuable.” Warren Deck, AMFS tuba artist-faculty member and faculty member formerly at Juilliard and currently at the University of Denver Lamont School of Music, agrees. “I know that there’s the idea out there that we don’t need all these music students,” he says with the chuckle. “And, you know, in a way that’s true. But I think that the stuff that you learn as a music student can serve you in any other endeavor that you may walk in to.” Deck, a former principal tuba player for the New York Philharmonic, cites the skills he has witnessed in himself and his students throughout his career: self-starting, problem solving on your own, and, in ensembles, knowing when to lead and when to support. Of course, it all starts with knowing fundamentally who you are. “Committing to learn how to play an instrument or play music really is such a gift be-

cause in the process of doing that, you get to know yourself. Music doesn’t lie and how you are comes through in the way you play,” says Castleman. She points to a student she had who, as a triathlete, had the habit of approaching everything in terms of measurable goals and competition. Studying music was a path, for this student, of discovering new parts of herself. “To watch her unfold and allow her imagination to have a place to live so that she could express her own ideas and feelings has been quite remarkable,” says Castleman. Deck recalls “one kid who was bright off-the-charts” who couldn’t play auditions well because he was so used to reading music well without having to work at it. Says Deck, “I realized that this guy had no experience in what procedural learning is, where you really train your body with a lot of repetition, in that stick-to-itiveness that one gets from practicing.” Indeed practicing is at the core of musical learning as well as a foundational part of the broader lessons one learns through music, note Castleman and Deck. Serious music students often practice two, three, four hours a day, or more. Says Deck, “Once you learn to practice well, you can study anything well. You have the discipline and the focus to stay tuned into something so you can assimilate it.” Deck illustrates this with a story about when his own playing career ended because of a neurological disorder and he went back to study at his local community college—at age 49. “I

found that studying in college courses was suddenly a piece of cake where it just wasn’t the first time around,” he says. “What I had learned practicing and playing, learning to concentrate on a problem and focus on it and just hang in there until you make headway on it, made studying everything else remarkably different.” Focus and discipline are key skills learned in the practice room, Deck and Castleman agree. Practicing brings other gifts, as well. Says Castleman, “A lot of what’s required is obviously good, disciplined thinking but at the same time an ability to quiet the mind and just be present.” Deck in fact starts his lessons each week with a practice he calls “just sitting.” He describes how in this process one observes one’s thoughts but lets them go. “And when you do this enough,” he says, “you’re capable of letting all thoughts go so then when your mind spits out something that’s in your way you are in a position to either engage with it because it helps you in that moment or let it go because it doesn’t help you in that moment.” Ultimately, studying and playing music offers individuals many paths for developing, both as individuals and in community. “Because it’s an art form that happens in the now, in the present moment, it’s so parallel to the flow of life,” says Castleman. Finally, notes Deck, music simply brings joy. Studying music, “people are going to have the richness of an appreciation of fine art,” he says. “I really think it leads to a much richer life.”

IMPROMPTU SUMMER 2016

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT Each year, more than six hundred students make their way to Aspen for an unparalleled summer of music education and performance. Get to know violinist Blake Pouliot, one of this season’s exceptional talents, before seeing him take the Benedict Music Tent stage this summer. By Tamara Vallejos

IMPROMPTU SUMMER 2016

thought, and my ideas and feelings.” Around the same time, Pouliot—a native of Toronto—headed to Ottawa to participate in the National Arts Centre Orchestra Young Artists Program, a summer academy founded and led by respected violinist Pinchas Zukerman. (Zukerman will also be in Aspen this summer, performing as a soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra as part of a special post-season Aspen Music Festival and School residency.) “He lit a fire [in me], and told me I could go far but I needed to work hard,” says Pouliot of Zukerman. “Having him guide me, and being around other kids my age who wanted the same thing, pushed me to a point where I thought, ‘This is what I want to do with my life.’” With Pouliot’s passion for violin renewed, he threw himself into the many opportunities available in his hometown, including joining the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra and participating in a pre-college program at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Then, when it came time for college, Pouliot decided to explore the music scene

in the United States and headed to the Colburn School in Los Angeles to pursue a Performance Diploma. During that time, Pouliot has spent two summers in Aspen, studying with Robert Lipsett, with whom he also works back in Los Angeles. Pouliot now returns for his third AMFS season, as the 2016 Dorothy DeLay Fellow; as part of that honor, he’ll take center stage to perform Korngold’s Violin Concerto in D major with the Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra on July 6. He’s long since had his eye on a career as a soloist, making this a wonderful experience for the rising star. “I find being a soloist similar to being a writer or something. I feel like there’s a duty to create your own stamp on things,” he says. “I want the opportunity to share the way I think, musically and emotionally and artistically, with a lot of people.” Violinist Blake Pouliot performs Korngold’s Violin Concerto in D major, op. 35, with the Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra on Wednesday, July 6.

DONNA SANTOS

Blake Pouliot was about five years old and already playing the piano when he decided he also wanted to try his hand at violin. “I thought it was the coolest instrument because I thought it was the most versatile,” explains Pouliot, now twenty-two years old. “I always wanted to sing, but I don’t think I have a very good voice. So I thought the violin was the closest thing, that I could manipulate the sound to make it sound like I was singing.” It took a couple of years before the ambitious, energetic youngster could convince his parents that playing the violin wasn’t just a passing whim. Eventually, they got him an instrument—but later, as a teenager, Pouliot did end up taking some time to evaluate whether the violin was really for him. “When I was fourteen, I quit violin for a year to pursue acting and musical theater,” he says. “I loved being onstage and I loved performing, but what I realized is that I didn’t like performing as a different person. I liked performing as myself, and being able to share what I

PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA IN ASPEN

AUGUST 23, 24, AND 25 Manfred Honeck leads violinist Pinchas Zukerman, clarinetist Michael Rusinek, and the incredible musicians of the PSO in three spectacular performances in the Benedict Music Tent. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss this first-ever post-season orchestra residency!

LEARN MORE AND BUY TICKETS AT 970-925-9042 OR WWW.ASPENMUSICFESTIVAL.COM/PSO2016. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in Aspen is generously underwritten by Sanford and Naava IMPROMPTU Grossman.

SUMMER 2016

www.aspenmusicfestival.com â&#x20AC;¢ 970 925 9042

IMPROMPTU SUMMER 2016